Refrigerating system.



No. 895,700. PATENTED AUG. 11, 1908.

H. TORRANOE, JR. REPRIGERATING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 14, 1907.

Inventor:

A ttys NE s rear or t on.

HENRY TORRANOE, JR, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

REIE'RIGEIRATING- SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 11, 1908.

Application fi led June 14,1907. Serial No. 379,077.

State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Refrigerating Systems and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descri tion of the same, such as will enable others s illed in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in refrigerating systems and particularly to systems wherein a considerable number of relatively small cooling boxes or the like are served from one common refrigerating appalatus.

My invention is particularly a plicable to apartment houses, hotels and t e like, the several apartments or suites of which it is desirable to provide with refrigerators operated from common refrigerating apparatus. In such installations there will commonly be refrigerators to be served on a number of different floors and the system will comprise one or more'risers each erators or cooling boxes.

My invention consists in a novel arrangement of piping and valves, whereby the piping is arranged very compactly, and whereby the cost of insulating the piping against the entrance of heat is greatly vention relates particularly to refrigeration systems of the type wherein refri eration is effected by cooling brine or equiva ent liquid and circulating the cold brine through cooling coils. Such systems require an outgoing pipe line and a return pipe line. According to my invention these two pipe lines are arranged annularly or one within the other, the outgoing line being preferably outside the return line, as this arrangement facilitates the connections to the cooling coils. Each such cooling coil (refrigerator) has two connections at different levels to the outgoing line and between these two connections I provide means, preferably a suitable valve, for throttling the flow through the outgoing line between these two points, so producing a difference' of pressure which causes a portion of the cold brine to flow through the cooling coil as a by-pass. In systems of this kind, for example in installations in large apartment houses, it is commonly desirable to have one comparaserving a series of refrigreduced. My intively large central cooling plant servin a great many small cooling boxes, each wit a few feet of comparatively small coils. In

circulating brine shall be comparatively large and that large circulating'pipes be used, so that the body of brine in its progress from and back to the central cooling plantshall not change much in temperature so that boxes tapping the circulating system at one point shall receive brine about as cold as those tapping it at another. But in such a system the friction or resistance to flow of the brine through the comparatively large circulating pipes is of course very small, except as constrictions are introduced as in this system, while the resistance in the smallcoiled pipes of the individual cooling boxes is greater. such large circulating pi es a resistance to flow, preferably adjustab e, so that circulation in the individual boxes is assured, such balancing resistance being inserted in the main conduit between the points where the inlet and the outlet of such an individual box tap the same.

The objects of my invention are to improve and simplify refrigerating apparatus of the class described, to arrange the pi e lines thereof more compactly, to reduce t 6 cost of heat insulation of such lines, and to provide for eilicient regulation of the flow of brine through the different cooling coils of the system, so that the refrigerating effect may be. distributed as desiredbetween the different cooling coils. Since,as stated, it is commonly the purpose to have so large a body of brine and circulate it at such speed that there is no great difference in temperature in the body at different points in the system, the outgoing and return mains can be conveniently made concentric. By such an arrangement, one layer or sheath of heatinsulation does'for both mains. l I will now proceed to describe my invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, illustrating diagrammatically one embodiment thereof, and will then point out the novel features in claims.

In said drawings: Figure 1 shows diagrammatically a refrigerating system such as described, comprising three risers serving i11- dependcnt series of cooling boxes; Fig. 2 is a detail view on a larger'scale of a portion of one of said risers, the outer pipe of which and The present invention provides in" such a system it is desirable that the body of top by a cap cooling coil 5 therein.

the throttle valve, are shown in section; and Fig. 3 shows a horizontal section through one of the throttle valves.

In said drawings, 1, 2 and 3 are risers each serving a series of refrigerating boxes 4. I have only illustrated these boxes 4 diagrammatically, showing one sectioned to show a It is to be supposed that the other boxes are provided with similar coils. Each riser comprises an outgoing pipe 6 and a return pipe 7 arranged annuarly with the return pipe inside the outgo- Said outgoing pipe is closed at the 8, the return pipe, however, being open at the top so that the cooling liquid may flow to the top of pipe 6 and then downward through pipe 7. 9 designates a brine storage tank to which the return cooling pipe.

- ing fluid is delivered by a pipe 10 connected I tween the pipes 6 and to all of the return pipes 7. 11 designates a brine cooling tank to which the brine is delivered from tank 9 by means of a pump 12 and pipe 13, and 14 is a )ipefor conveying the cooled brine from tan 11 to the several outgoing pipes 6 of the diiferent risers The cooling coil of each box 4 has two connections to the outgoing line 6, namely, a supply connection 15 and a return connection 16, each provided with a suitable regulating and shut off valve; and to create a difference of pressure between these two connections 15 and 16 I provide a throttling valve 17 between each such two points, whereby a pressure diiferential between such points over and above that due to difference in head and friction of the pipes, may be created. I have .found it practicable to )ass the return pipe 7 directly through these valves 17 by using for valves 17 ordinary gate valves the movable gates of which move across only one half of the annular space between ipes 6 and 7, the other half of such space eing permanently closed. This is illustrated particularly in Figs. 2 and 3, wherein 18 designates the said movable gate adapted to close half the annular space be- 7 and 19 designates a fixed rib permanently closing the other half of such space. As will be understood, it is not necessary that these valves 17 be absolutely tight, since they are not intended to shut off the flow absolutely but merely to brine is pumped from brine tank 9 through cooling tank 11 to the supply pipes 6 of the various risers and in passing up through said pipes 6 a portion of the stream leaves such )ipes 6 at the connection 15 of every cooling box the valves of which are open, circulates through the cooling coil 5 of that box and returned to the outgoing line 6 through connection 16, such )ortion of the stream passing through the cooling coil of the box as a bypass or shunt around throttling valve 17. At the top of each pipe 6 the brine asses into pipe 7 and returns thence throug pipe 10 to tank 9. As a comparatively large volume of cold brine is desired in the mains, such'mains are commonly larger than the necessities of the flow demand and the rib does not interfere with the normal flow while it cooperates with '18 in creating the balancing resistance desirable between inlets and outlets of individual coolers.

What I claim is 1. A refrigerating system comprising a conduit having outgoing and return lines arranged one within the other, means for circulating cooling fluid through said supply line to the mouth of the return line and thence back, cooling coils each having a supply and a return connection to such outgoing inc, and means in such outgoing line between each such two pointsof connection creating a pressure differential between such points.

2. A refrigerating system comprising a conduit having outgoing and return lines arranged one within the other, means for circulating cooling fluid through'said supply line to the mouth of the return line and thence back, cooling coils each having a supply and a return connection to the outer of said lines, and flow-restricting means between each such two points of connection.

3. A refrigerating system comprising a conduit having outgoing and return lines, the latter located within the former, means for circulating cooling fluid through said supply line to the mouth of the return line and thence back, cooling coils each having a supply and a return connection to the outer line, and a valve .in the outer line between each such two points of connection and through which valve the inner line passes, for creating a pressure differential between such points of connection.

4. A refrigerating system comprising a conduit having outgoing and return lines, the latter located within the former, means for circulating cooling fluid through said supline to the mouth of the return line and a portion of the annular space between the I outgoing and return lines.

5. A refrigerating system comprising a adapted to restrict a portion of the annular -conduit having outgoing and return lines, space between-the outgoing and return lines the latter located within the former, means and having a fixed portion restricting anfor circulating cooling fluid through said other portion of such annular space. supply line to the mouth of the return line In testimony whereof I afiix my signature, 15 and thence back, cooling coils each having in the presence of two witnesses.

a supply and a return connection to the HENRY TORRANCE, JR. outer line and a gate valve in the outer Witnesses: line between each such two points of the K. G. LEARD,

10 connection, said gate valve having a gate H. M. MARBLE. 

